Corporate Citizen in Political Discourse Amidst the Pandemic

The wisdom of reviewing corporations, which execute strategic programs of corporate sustainability, as an important actor of political communications in postindustrial society is justified in the article. The basic features of corporate sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and corporate citizenship concepts, the role of strategic communications under international ESG-discourse are outlined. The comparative analyses of Russian companies, participating Global Compact Network, social investments during COVID-19 pandemic is based on case studies, transparent nonfinancial reporting, and expert interviews. Social projects and programs of X5 Retail Group, Severstal’, Norilsk Nikel, United Metallurgic Company were studied. These companies’ basic business activities were established in industrial society. As the result of the research, based on process sociology (N. Elias), mediatization (A. Hepp), and communicative rationality (Ju. Habermas) approaches, the role of corporate citizens in communicative figurations of the network society formation and their subjectivity in political communications acquiring. The focus is made on COVID-19 pandemic influence on communication infrastructures with the studied companies’ stakeholders transformation.

Network Leadership: on the Mechanism of Political Mobilization

The article attempts to develop an approach to describing the mechanism of network political mobilization by political leaders. The purpose was achieved through a pilot empirical study. In order to obtain data on the participants, means and methods of political mobilization in the network space the method of questioning was used. The audience of the research is students of universities of large Russian cities in the number of 83 people. Participants of research are selected by a method of purposeful sampling. The objectives of the analysis are also the communication environment of political leaders in the network space, technologies, methods and system of evaluation of interaction in social media. The results of the research confirmed the hypothesis of the deployment process of the phenomenon of network political leadership, identified and described trends in the communications of network leaders. Authors offered a methodology of research of network mobilization process through a prism of parameters of network involvement and online political support. The presence of these elements makes it possible to launch the mechanism of political mobilization in social networks. In the long term, the data obtained and the developed tools for empirical research can be useful in conducting large-scale political research, in particular, studying the phenomenon of political recruiting.

Social Media Users Behavior before the Mass Street Protests in Russia in January and April 2021

The purpose of this work is to identify the specifics of the online audience behavior before major street actions in Russia: how users react to current events, what is the focus of their attention, which authors, publics and publications are gaining popularity. The research was held on 7 social media platforms and based on content analysis including both a quantitative and a qualitative methodology. A certain similarity was revealed in the behavior of users of different platforms within the same period: they were interested in the same news and the positions of the same personalities. In addition, Twitter and social media users showed an increased interest in each other's reactions to the events that concerned them. The «climate of opinions» investigation held by social media users was especially obvious before the rally, announced suddenly. The research also revealed similarities in media consumption, interest in the same opinion leaders and a similar level of politicization before rallies among users of 5 platforms. These social media form a unified segment of the public sphere. The research data suggest that the platforms where «the climate of opinions» leans in favor of the protest agenda are more likely to influence protest activity. At the same time, direct calls to take to the streets seem to have an insignificant impact on protest behavior.

Politicization of Socially Significant Topics in Advertising Communications

The key objective of the study is to identify strategies for politicizing socio-economic issues in political advertising communications. The method of critical discourse analysis in the tradition of N. Fairclough is used: an interpretive, explanatory method involving the study of discourses as forms of social practice. The result of the study was the identification of the main politicization strategies used by candidates for the post of President of the Russian Federation in 2012 V.V. Zhirinovsky and G.A. Zyuganov in advertising communications: the use of oppositions ("before - now"; "past - present - future"); appeal to the past, to the history of the country; symbolization of the current socio-economic situation of the country; distancing the subject of communication from the unsatisfactory results of the current government; the use of humor (including unconsciously); identification of their lifestyle with the lifestyle of voters – "millions of people"; the use of informal discourse when addressing voters; appeal to their economic and everyday practices; imitation of journalistic format; linking changes in the socio-economic situation with changes in the political sphere. The use of discursive practices that are not shared by the entire population can also provoke the politicization of the issue under discussion. The theoretical significance of the research is manifested in the approbation of the method of critical discourse analysis (in the tradition of N. Ferklo). It allows you to analyze political advertising communications at three levels: textual, discursive and social.

Macedonian Language as an Object of an International Dispute (According to Media Materials)

The purpose of this article is to study the issue of politicization of the language dispute between the Republic of North Macedonia and the Republic of Bulgaria. This academic dispute became a political argument not only in relations between two countries, but also in resolving issues in the world. The main method was content analysis the English-language news portal’s materials - Balkan Insight. This analysis provides the opportunity to research the components of this dispute. As a result, it can be stated that in the scientific community there is no consensus about how much and to what extent the Macedonian language is "similar" to other languages of the Balkan Peninsula. Bulgarian scientists do not acknowledge the existence of the Macedonian language, claiming that the language of North Macedonia is a dialect of Bulgarian. The Macedonian scientific community takes a different point of view, arguing that the language developed historically, through the BI media platform, is trying to form European public opinion. The collective West officially support the integration of Macedonia into European structures, but does not reject the positions of individual EU states, such as Bulgaria, which play a significant role.

The Personification of Present Mediated Political Communication

In recent decades, the political game in democratic societies has become increasingly personalized. The weakening of the role of parties as representatives of public interests is caused by the influence of personification, which in turn is facilitated by the growing importance of social media. Personalization is largely manifested in the period of election campaigns, since the electorate chooses specific individuals based on the image of a politician recreated in the media. Thus, the purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis about the increasing role of social media and the personification of the political game during election campaigns. The author chose bibliography analysis and content analysis as the research method. The author analyzed the profiles in social networks of candidates for deputies of the Legislative Assembly of the city of St. Petersburg, nominated by the electoral association "St. Petersburg regional branch of the All-Russian party "Unity and Fatherland" - "United Russia". Based on the analysis of the social media profiles of the candidates under consideration, the hypothesis put forward has not been confirmed. The paper concludes that the key factor in the personification of political discourse in the media is political competition. In the absence of political competition, politicians lose their incentives to disclose personalized information and form a positive image of a person in social media. The practical significance of the work for representatives of the political community lies in the fact that in order to increase public loyalty to the dominant party and trust in the activities of political leaders, politicians at all levels of government need to conduct a competent policy in social networks, based on the experience of democratic countries.

Importance of Media Literacy for Political Communication in Russia

The article analyses the role and importance of media literacy for political communication in Russia using the example of student life. The purpose of this article is to develop and test a new model of political communication with an emphasis on media literacy as a factor in the dissemination of political information in society. This approach opens up new perspectives for the study of political communication by the public. The authors have developed a four-component model of political communication, which includes the following components: socio-demographic data, media literacy, media effects and political behavior. This model was tested in an online survey on student media literacy in Russia and its impact on political communication (N = 632). The article also uses data from open sources and databases. Using the Chi-square test, it was found that media literacy, as a factor in political communication, plays a more important role than socio-demographic characteristics. In other words, media literacy is much better at explaining media effects and political behavior than the socio-demographic profile of the respondents. This conclusion, of course, applies only to student youth in Russia and needs further empirical verification.

The Phenomenon of Revolutionary Politicization and the State Communicative Rationality

This work aims a theoretical analysis of the historical situation of social problems politicization in modern Russia, by referring to achievements of modern historical sociology of revolutions and interdisciplinary synthesis in the study of social movements. Turning to the achievements of the historical sociology of revolutions and social movements allows us to understand the politicization of social problems in modern Russia within a broader theoretical context. As well it allows us to understand politicization in modern Russia within the context of state crises as revolutionary politicization (which is a consequence of “revolutionary neurosis” phenomenon). Besides this turning helps theoretically explore the politicization of social problems in modern Russia as a communicative (ideological) crisis in relations between the state and society. This theoretical analysis bases on the qualitative methodology of modern social research in the study of political and social phenomena. The generalized method of this work is the comparative social hermeneutics of historical phenomena of revolutions and states, based on the political theory of J. Habermas. Author considers the politicization of socially significant topics as a constant dialogue between state and society. The communicative rationality of the state aims at understanding in dialogue. Transition from the USSR to the Russian Federation destroyed the Soviet ideological paradigm and a new ideological paradigm is being created, which affects the complexity of the dialogue between state and society. The author concludes that the phenomenon of revolutionary politicization in modern Russia (the abnormality of the dialogue between the state and society) is a consequence of the lack of communicative rationality at the state.

On Special Issue «The Politization of social problems in mass media»

The thematic issue of the magazine is devoted to the problems of politicization of socially significant topics in the media space and ultimately touched on a very wide and diverse range of issues, which, nevertheless, revolve around the role of the media and social media in modern politics. In this context, politicization is interpreted as the process of involving non-political issues in political communication. That is why the choice of political problems discussed in the media can reveal the essence of the political regime in a particular country, reveal the adequacy of political institutions to the needs of society and assess the effectiveness of political governance. Most of the articles are in the nature of empirical research, which investigate important problems of modern political communications in Russia and abroad. The range of research methods is also very extensive and includes polls, questionnaires, focus groups, content analysis, discourse analysis, case studies, etc. Following the problem of "politicization", among the most important concepts are the ideas of "media literacy", “network leadership”, “political mobilization”, “personification of politics”, “corporate citizenship”, etc. Research shows that social media has become an important factor in the politicization of socially significant topics. This thematic issue is aimed at specialists in the field of applied political science and political communication.

Sociocultural and political aspects of urban space formation: images «inside» and «outside»

The purpose of the article is to analyze the phenomenon of the city as a communicative environment that creates images. Concrete historical examples of the formation of the image of the city, both from the side of the internal observer and from the side of external actors, are considered. The morphological analysis used in the study makes it possible to consider in more detail the elements of image construction and their interconnection. According to the results of the study, the author concluded that the formation of the image of the city takes place from two positions in relation to it – «inside» and «outside». Each of them defines the city as a unique environment at different levels. The first way of constructing the image of the city is based on personal understanding and reading, which makes the city understandable in terms of its use. The second type of image is associated with the formation of a city brand, which is based on a strong archetype or dominant that makes it unique and recognizable. Correctly constructed images are beneficial for the authorities, since attractive cities can be a magnet for investment, which in turn entails the socio-economic development of both the city and the region as a whole.